Staircraft makes Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 League

Staircraft's Managing Director Andy Hamilton founded the Nuneaton-based company in 1985 using innovation through design and manufacturing to reach today’s position of Europe’s largest staircase manufacturer, supplying 1000+ new-build homes every week.

The proposition has grown significantly, now offering ‘fully integrated solutions’ in the design and manufacture of staircase, i-joists, floor-kits, MDF painted profiles/mouldings, with door-kits on the horizon. The extended range also positions Staircraft as Europe’s only i-joist and floor-kit manufacturer.

In 2017 Staircraft added 5 manufacturing facilities, ending the year with 8 facilities with more planned in 2018. 3 units were opened in Hinckley supporting the main stair factories and providing capacity for future product areas.

Andy Hamilton, Staircraft Founder & Managing Director commented: “Nothing much has changed since i-Joists were invented 48 years ago, until now! Our investment in a high technology, bespoke production line, enables us to take i-joist performance to a new level. Our new capability will enable us to significantly increase performance by eliminating web joints, the weakest area, greatly improving the web/flange connection strength. These innovations will future proof our offering to the market”.

“Of course our success would not have been possible without the support of our customers and suppliers who we recognise as our extended team, helping us achieve greater market share. Lastly, and most importantly, I want to place on record my sincere gratitude to each and every member of the 300-strong Staircraft team. Their hard-work, flexibility and dedication through a significant period of improvement and change has been truly admirable."

Major organisations join PEFC as International Stakeholder members

“We are delighted to welcome ARAUCO, European Panel Federation (EPF) and European Pulp Industry Sector Association AISBL (EPIS) as International Stakeholder members,” said PEFC CEO and Secretary General Ben Gunneberg during the PEFC General Assembly in Helsinki, Finland on 15 November 2017.

“As sustainable forestry is a lifeline for our members, we are very much looking forward to our membership with PEFC,” commented Anna Maija Wessman, European Pulp Industry Sector Association, AISBL (EPIS), speaking at the General Assembly.

“We hope to engage in an active dialogue between EPIS and PEFC, and to have a good interaction in the coming years,” Ms. Wessman continued.

Clive Pinnington from the European Panel Federation added: “As downstream users of certified forests, certification is extremely important to us. We have nominated it as one of our top ten priority areas. We hope to support PEFC and are thoroughly delighted to be a new member.”

Celulosa Arauco Y Constitucion S.A. is a group of forestry and industrial companies located in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, the US, Canada and Europe. Arauco is one of the largest forestry companies in Latin America, both in terms of the surface area and the output of its plantations. Its industrial activities include cellulose plants, sawmills and woodworking plants.

The European Panel Federation (EPF) represents the manufacturers of particleboard, MDF, OSB, hardboard, softboard and plywood, with members in 25 countries. The EU wood panel industry has an annual turnover of around 22 billion Euros, creates over 100,000 jobs directly and counts more than 5,000 enterprises in Europe.

The European Pulp Industry Sector Association AISBL (EPIS) is an international non-profit organization consisting of companies producing chemical or mechanical market pulps. Its purpose is to collect, process and distribute statistics regarding chemical market pulps in compliance with applicable antitrust laws for the benefit of its members and third parties.

With these three new members, the PFC can now count on 28 International Stakeholder members, as well as 49 National members.

Saint-Gobain acquires Scotframe entering offsite manufacturing market

Scotframe manufactures and supplies full timber frame housing kits for small/medium builders, developers and self-builders in the UK. Operating from two manufacturing sites and four sales and showroom locations in Scotland, Scotframe is also a market leader in closed panel systems used extensively for new build homes in Scotland, and also England.

Mike Newnham, Chief Executive of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution UK & Ireland commented: “Scotframe is a great fit for Saint-Gobain and we’re delighted the team at Scotframe are joining our Group. Scotframe has more than 160 dedicated and knowledgeable employees who have considerable technical knowledge in manufacturing high-quality timber housing kits and wall, floor and roof panels for the UK market. Scotframe is a business strongly aligned to Saint-Gobain’s strategy to create great living places and improve daily life, and enables Saint-Gobain to further accelerate its growth and expertise in offsite manufacturing for construction markets.”

“Just as importantly for me, Scotframe and Saint-Gobain share the same core focus on safety, understanding and supporting customers throughout the house building and designing process. Both companies also champion the role building performance has in creating comfortable and healthy living environments.”

‘I’m delighted that the founder and MD of Scotframe, Bob Edwards, will continue as Managing Director of Scotframe following the acquisition, so Scotframe will continue business as usual, serving customers and manufacturing high-quality products.”

Bob Edwards, Managing Director of Scotframe added: “Today is an exciting day for Scotframe and for all our dedicated colleagues. Having established the business 28 years ago the sale of Scotframe is a tremendous milestone in our evolution and I’m delighted that we will be beginning this new chapter as part of the Saint-Gobain group – a tremendous company with a fantastic reputation and great strength."

"I will continue to run Scotframe and for our customers nothing will change – we continue to operate business as usual. For our colleagues who make our business such a success this is a terrific opportunity to be part of a global group with 18,000 colleagues in the UK alone and a culture of valuing personal development and growth – so many new opportunities for our business.”

The publication explores the situation in the countries negotiating a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union from a civil society perspective.

"A year after the first FLEGT licences from Indonesia entered the EU market (15 November 2016), it is expected that Ghana will soon become the second country to export FLEGT-licensed timber to the EU and the first in Africa," says the report.

"While this represents significant and highly symbolic progress, the greatest advance in the last six months has, however, been with the second plank of the FLEGT Action Plan: the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it a criminal offence to put illegally sourced timber on the EU market."

The Forest Watch FLEGT VPA updates are produced in collaboration with the UK Department for International Development and the European Union.

'Belgian Market is safe from illegal timber imports,' says Fedustria

In a press release dated 4 October 2017, the European Commission reported that "Belgium, where important quantities of timber are placed on the EU market, has not managed to carry out a significant number of verifications since the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) [...] Therefore, the Commission decided to raise the matter with the Belgian authorities by sending a letter of formal notice. Belgium has two months to reply."

Fedustria - the federation of the Belgian textile, woodworking and furniture industry - has now released a clarification note underlining that the Belgian Timber Importers are doing their utmost - in accordance with EUTR due diligence requirements - to mitigate the risks of illegal timber entering the Belgian market. In details:

Since the entry into force of the EUTR in 2013, Belgian timber importers, who are members of the federation, have taken full responsibility for inspecting and guaranteeing the legality of the products they import. This is essential for them to be able to continue supplying these products in the future. As such, they work together with all parties concerned, and take the necessary initiatives;

It is true that no intensive inspections have been carried out in Belgium in recent years. For years, the federation has been the requesting party in terms of expanding these inspections, and we are pleased to see that new inspectors were recruited at the start of September. However, the assertion by Greenpeace that the system does not work since no sanctions have been imposed to date goes way too far. On the contrary, it demonstrates that the audited companies are applying EUTR obligations effectively;

Not all timber that is unloaded in Antwerp (or other ports) is destined for the Belgian market and cleared by Belgian customs. The Belgian government is solely responsible for the timber and timber products which are actually placed on the market in Belgium, and not for timber in transit. The authorities in the country of destination are responsible in this respect.

"Fedustria and the timber importing member companies advocate open dialogue and cooperation with governments and stakeholders in order to contribute to the correct application of the obligations arising from the EU timber regulation," said the Federation.

"As a federation for both timber importing and timber processing companies, we would like to emphasise once again that we have every interest in managing forests in a sustainable manner. After all, our future is inherently linked to the protection and expansion of forests. Moreover, sustainable forest management - including timber harvest - contributes to the further development of producer countries."